Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the decline in demand for new tyres for pre-1960 vehicles since the requirement for an annual MOT test for such vehicles was removed in 2012; whether there has been an increase in the number of road traffic accidents involving such vehicles since 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: We have not made any assessment of the demand for new tyres for vehicles constructed or first registered before 1960. We have the following figures for personal injury accidents where at least one of the vehicles involved was constructed or first registered before 1960: 2012: 552013: 512014: 542015: 45

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of MOT testing in ensuring that vehicles with unroadworthy tyres are not used on the public highway.

Andrew Jones: The MOT test is an effective tool for checking annually that vehicles meet minimum roadworthiness standards, including those applying to the condition of tyres. Of the around 27 million registered cars eligible for MOT, 7,789,251 class 3 and 4 vehicles (cars, vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats) failed the MOT during the business year 2015/2016. A total of 599,772 (7.7%) of those test failures related to defective tyres. Identification of tyre-related defects at MOT prevented the cars to which they were fitted from being used on public roads with unroadworthy tyres.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what role the EU had in promoting the exemption of 40 year-old cars from MOT inspections; and if he will make a statement.

Mr John Hayes: From 16 September to 2 November 2016 we consulted over proposals to implement European Directive 2014/45 on periodic tests for roadworthiness. The Directive provided that Member States could exempt vehicles over 30 years old, provided they had not been substantially changed. Our proposals were developed following an informal consultation in 2014.

Motor Vehicles: Testing

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the increased risk to road-users consequent on any future decision to exempt from MOT tests any vehicle built more than 40 years ago; and when the consultation on that proposal is due to report.

Mr John Hayes: From 16 September to 2 November 2016 we consulted over proposals to exempt vehicles from annual roadworthiness tests. The consultation document included an Impact Assessment, which estimated the risks to road users of the options in the consultation. We expect to announce a decision on the outcome of the consultation soon.

Govia Thameslink Railway: Standards

Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many days during 2017, excluding official strike days, Govia Thameslink Railway has met its target Public Performance Measure on the Southern Mainline.

Paul Maynard: Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), like all other Franchised Train Operators are measured against a periodic Public Performance Measure target, which then contributes towards a 13 period Moving Annual Average Public Performance Measure; which is an industry standard set out by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). This, again like all other Franchised Train Operators, is measured against the total sum of its operations and not individual component parts like the Southern Mainline.

Cabotage

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on UK hauliers of EU hauliers breaking cabatoge rules in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: Responsibility for the enforcement of cabotage lies with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and in the last five years, DVSA has stopped and checked over 290,000 non-GB vehicles. Cabotage is a small part of the haulage market - in the UK about 1% of domestic journeys are operated by foreign hauliers under cabotage. The rate of cabotage infringements is generally low. In the first three quarters of 2016/17, of the approximately 37,500 cabotage checks made by DVSA, only around 0.6% led to a prohibition.

Cabotage

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many investigations have been made into potential breaches of cabotage rules by EU hauliers in each of the last five years for which data is available; and what proportion of those investigations resulted in successful prosecutions.

Andrew Jones: In each of the last five business years, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conducted the following number of investigations into potential breaches of cabotage rules:2011/12 – 57,6162012/13 – 44,3402013/14 – 40,2892014/15 – 46,4662015/16 – 52,499 DVSA does not prosecute foreign drivers for cabotage offences; instead it issues cabotage notices. In each of the last five business years, DVSA recorded the following number of cabotage notices:2011/12 – 3702012/13 – 2972013/14 – 2572014/15 – 3752015/16 – 484

Railways: Passengers

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make representations to Transport for London to require rail franchisees to respond in a timely manner to passenger requests.

Paul Maynard: My Department is responsible for letting and managing rail franchises and we engage in regular dialogue with our franchisees to ensure that they are acting in the passenger’s best interests.

Department for Transport: Evening Standard

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on advertising with the Evening Standard newspaper in each year since 2010.

Mr John Hayes: The Department buys advertising space for statutory and other public notices, recruitment and public information and behaviour change communication campaigns. Advertising space is bought through agents (e.g. media buying and recruitment) as part of integrated services. The cost of those adverts appearing in a single newspaper in each year since 2010 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Railways: Freight

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the reduction in the rail freight grant on the volume of freight that will be carried by (a) rail and (b) road.

Paul Maynard: Mode Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) awards made so far will help to remove about 140,000 fewer lorry journeys from road and onto rail in 2017/18 than the current year end forecast for 2016/17. For 2018/19, it is about 160,000 fewer. This assessment is based on the first bid round for 2017/18 and 2018/19 funding which was held in December 2016.

High Speed Two: Pay

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria were used to set the £535,000 per annum base salary of the new chief executive officer of HS2.

Andrew Jones: HS2 Ltd conducted an extensive global search for the right candidate to take forward one of the largest and most exciting infrastructure programmes in the world. The salary was identified as the level necessary to attract and then secure the right candidate to lead the HS2 Project. It has been bench-marked against the salaries for similar senior positions in comparable industry roles. It is a competitive salary for the demands of the role and the skills required. The job specification which set out the skills and experience criteria were published on the HS2 Ltd website.  Skills ► Information analysis - An ability to assimilate complex, ambiguous and often incomplete information, in order to take action providing clear direction and purpose to the organisation and its stakeholders.► An ability to understand and focus on detail as needed whilst maintaining the strategic vision and overview to keep the project focused.► Public speaking & Ambassadorial skills - to lead innovation within the broader industry, working with technical bodies, trade associations, the supply chain and government.► Ability to build, lead and motivate top executive teams and consensus within these teams and the board. Knowledge ► An ability to assimilate complex, ambiguous and often incomplete information, in order to take action providing clear direction and purpose to the organisation and its stakeholders.► Knowledge of best practice approaches to embedding continuous improvement culture as the organisation shifts from concept to delivery and adapts accordingly.► Knowledge of inclusive leadership techniques and approaches.► Qualifications: Applicants will most likely have a strong academic or professional training and have experience of dealing with complex engineering and business issues. Experience ► Experience of leading a successful transformation of a large complex commercially-focused delivery organisation, achieving significant improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and customer service.► Experience of leading an ingrained Health and Safety culture through personal leadership and commitment.► Experience of effective strategic risk management, change control processes and capital allocation on large scale capital intensive projects or within organisations delivering in this environment.► Experience of dealing with the procurement of a complex supply chain.

High Speed Two: Staff

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2017 to Question 64112, if he will publish details of Mark Thurston's previous experience, which was used to inform the decision to appoint him to the role of Chief Executive Officer of HS2 Ltd.

Andrew Jones: Mark Thurston brings a huge array of varied experience across 30 years in the infrastructure sector around Europe, and in UK rail especially. This includes starting out as an apprentice at TfL, to major international engineering and infrastructure companies The Nichols Group and CH2M. At CH2M, he was the lead for the Programme Partner joint venture on the Olympics and Crossrail as well as overseeing all of CH2M’s European operations. He has held roles at Metronet, Railtrack and Brown and Root Engineering and Construction.

Home Office

Home Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many contracts procured by her Department and its arms-length bodies require that the contractor pays those of its employees undertaking the work contracted for the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in each of the last three financial years.

Sarah Newton: Home Office requires all of its suppliers to comply with the legal minimum standards of pay as set out in the Government’s National Living Wage legislation. This is a contractual obligation on the supplier and is monitored through contract compliance mechanisms. We do not require or stipulate in our contractual arrangements a requirement to meet the Living Wage Foundation’s real living wage. The Government believes that people have the right to a higher wage and not to be punished by higher taxes. As part of this, from April 2016, we introduced a new mandatory National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 25 and above, and this will rise to £7.50 an hour in April 2017. We insist that employers pay at least the National Minimum Wage.

Social Networking: Crime

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter, (c) Google+, (d) YouTube, (e) Snapchat and (f) WhatsApp accounts have been closed or suspended on request of the Government due to involvement in (i) terrorism, (ii) hate crime and (iii) targeted harassment in each of the last 24 months.

Sarah Newton: This Government takes seriously the issue of online terrorist content, hate crime, and abuse. We work in partnership with major technology firms across the spectrum of online harms, identifying ways to tackle threats.In the UK our dedicated police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) refers content that they assess as contravening UK terrorism legislation to industry. If industry agree that it breaches their terms and conditions, they remove it voluntarily. Through this process, in 2016 CTIRU secured the removal of over 120,000 pieces of terrorist material. The Home Office can only obtain the specific data requested on terrorism at disproportionate cost. Last year we published a new Hate Crime Action Plan which focuses on reducing hate crime both on and offline, increasing reporting and improving support for victims.As part of this, we agreed with internet service providers including Google, Facebook and Twitter that they would remove illegal content within 24 hours of it being posted, meaning people are better protected online. Snapchat and Whatsapp both contain end to end encryption on their messages, which means the content sent between their users is not publically viewable.

Home Office: Lost Property

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many documents have been recorded as lost by her Department since 8 May 2015.

Sarah Newton: There have been 34 cases recorded of documents lost by the Home Office since 8 May 2015, of which 12 were recovered. None of these documents were above the OFFICIAL classification (this classification does include information that may be caveated as OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE).

Antisemitism

Oliver Dowden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to improve the (a) security and (b) funding for security at synagogues and Jewish schools.

Mr Ben Wallace: During 1016-17 the Government provided a grant of £13.4m to support security measures for the Jewish Community. On 01 March I was pleased to announce a continuation of the grant at the same level for 2017-18. The Jewish Community Protective Security Grant makes funding available to all Jewish free, state and independent schools, colleges and nurseries to employ security guards during operating hours. Grant funding is also used to improve security at many synagogues through the implementation of a range of solutions including guarding and physical measures. These funded security measures supplement existing site security arrangements and policing measures put in place following the increase in the national threat level in August 2014, and enhanced after the shocking events in Paris and Copenhagen, which has resulted in heightened police activity around Jewish sites. The Government has also ensured locations such as synagogues and educational establishments have access to high-quality advice and guidance, provided by the police and others, so they know what further steps they can take to reduce vulnerability. Public vigilance, the work of the police, and of the security and intelligence agencies all contribute to make our communities safer.

Home Office: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page nine of the Office of National Statistics report on Public sector employment data, published on 15 March 2017, for what reasons around 90 civil servants transferred from her Department to the Cabinet Office between June and September 2016; and what positions those civil servants held in her Department prior to their transfer.

Sarah Newton: In 2016, 94 members of staff from Civil Staff Learning transferred from the Home Office to the Cabinet Office. The Home Office hosted Civil Service Learning for the purposes of payroll and accommodation. The transfer was part of a Machinery of Government change for administrative purposes only.

Hate Crime: Elections

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps (a) her Department and (b) the police have taken since 2012 to improve responses to incidents of discrimination and racism during election campaigns.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office worked closely with the police at both national and local levelfollowing the EU referendum in June 2016 to monitor any increase in hate crime and to provide reassurance to the communities most affected. Where the law is broken inrelation to elections we would expect the appropriate body to take action.

Hate Crime: Elections

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of racist (a) incidents and (b) crimes occurring during electoral campaigns in each year from 2012.

Sarah Newton: The Home Office holds annual data on the number of racist hate crimes and incidents in England and Wales. We do not hold specific data relating to electoral campaigns. In the most recent hate crime statistical bulletin, ‘Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2015/16’, an Annex was included on the level of racially or religiously aggravated offences around the time of the EU Referendum. This analysis, based on 31 forces who supplied detailed data to the Home Office Data Hub, showed that there was an increase in the number of these offences following the announcement of the referendum result. This publication is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2015-to-2016

Compass Contracts

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what process (a) Serco, (b) G4S and (c) Clearel procure accommodation under the provisions of the Compass system.

Mr Robert Goodwill: In accordance with the contract all accommodation providers are required to develop close and co-operative relationships with local authorities and maintain effective on-going consultation and liaison arrangements with them.In practice providers work closely with the Home Office and regional Strategic Migration Partnerships to seek the views of local authorities on proposed addresses for asylum accommodation within dispersal areas on a range of issues including the capacity of local health, education and other support services; the concentration of service users and risk of social tensions. How the consultation is undertaken will be agreed with each local authority with the support of the Strategic Migration Partnerships.

Compass Contracts

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is the responsibility of (a) the contractor or (b) the landlord to cover the cost of landlord insurance under the Compass system.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Responsibility for landlord insurance is a matter for the Service Providers to address via their individual arrangements with their Sub-Contractors and/or Landlords.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to reduce the number of acid attacks.

Brandon Lewis: Attacks on people involving acids or other corrosives are a serious matter that can result in huge distress and life changing injuries. We are working with retailers to explore what action can be taken to control sales of products with a high acidic content, and we are also working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead to better understand the extent and scale of crimes involving acid to inform measures to prevent such attacks.

Female Genital Mutilation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy to recognise the threat of female genital mutilation as grounds for an asylum claim in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Yes. Those who are found to be at risk of female genital mutilation may be granted refugee status.

Crimes of Violence: Acids

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many acid attacks there were in (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and (c) the London Borough of Newham in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office does not collect data on the number of acid attacks. Acid or other corrosive attacks would be recorded though under different offence types, usually assault occasioning actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm depending on the severity of the injuries inflicted. We are currently working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead to gather data through police forces to better understand the extent and scale of crimes involving acid and other corrosive substances.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Natural Gas: Regulation

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department issues to (a) National Grid and (b) Ofgem on the frequency of use of retrospective changes to the energy from the gas market.

Jesse Norman: The Department has not issued any guidance to Ofgem or National Grid on the specific issue of retrospective changes. It is for Ofgem and National Grid to consider the appropriateness of any changes they may wish to make, within the legal framework set by the Government.

Renewable Energy: Heating and Transport

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the percentage of renewable energy as a percentage of total energy used in the (a) transport and (b) heat sectors in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The EU 2020 renewable energy target requires the UK to achieve 15% of final energy consumption from renewables in electricity generation, heating and transport by 2020.We are currently progressing in line with the trajectory set out in the Renewable Energy Directive, having met the Directive’s interim targets for 2011/12 and 2013/14.Government has confirmed spending on the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme will rise from £430 million in 2015/16 to £1.15 billion in 2020/21, and has consulted on proposals to increase the supply of sustainable biofuels under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

National Grid: Natural Gas

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the National Grid on support for small-scale gas energy suppliers to remain in the market.

Jesse Norman: The Capacity Market provides reliable capacity, including gas plant, with secure revenues in return for keeping themselves available when needed. Recent auction outcomes demonstrate the Capacity Market provides the necessary financial incentives to ensure new gas plant are brought forward as and when needed, with up to 1.2GW of new small scale gas winning agreements in 2016 alone.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average response rate was of his Department to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month since July 2016.

Margot James: Freedom of Information statistics are Official Statistics and are governed by the standards set out by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) in their Code of Practice. To publish information outside of the release timetable would be a breach of Protocol 2 of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.The latest Freedom of Information statistics were published in December 2016 and are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/freedom-of-information-statistics-july-to-september-2016--2

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to announce a decision on the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

Jesse Norman: We are carefully considering the recommendations contained in Charles Hendry’s recent report on tidal lagoons. Any decisions arising from the Review, including whether to proceed with the Swansea Bay project, will need to balance the priorities of security of supply, affordability and meeting our climate change obligations. We need to consider what is in the best interests of the energy consumer and taxpayer in the long term. We will respond to the Hendry review in due course.

Groceries Code Adjudicator: Reviews

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the outcome of the statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator.

Margot James: The public consultation for the statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator ran from 18 October 2016 to 10 January 2017. Responses are currently being analysed and the outcome will be published by the end of May.

Tidal Power: Swansea Bay

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if the Government will announce its decision on the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon to the House before announcing it in any other public forum.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 22 March 2017



We are carefully considering the recommendations contained in Charles Hendry’s recent report on tidal lagoons. We will inform the House following the Review.

Green Investment Bank

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department was aware that the Chair of the UK Green Investment Bank was being considered for other government or commercial roles when it received advice from him on the sale of that bank; and whether his Department made an assessment of the potential effect on that advice of such consideration.

Mr Nick Hurd: Holding answer received on 22 March 2017



The Government is grateful to the Green Investment Bank (GIB) Board for the considered views it has provided throughout the GIB sale. All decisions taken in regard to the sale of GIB are for Ministers alone. As shareholder, Government works closely with the GIB Board to ensure the business operates to high standards of corporate governance at all times.

Energy: Taxation

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has held with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the structure of the Levy Control Framework for 2021 to 2026.

Jesse Norman: Holding answer received on 22 March 2017



My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues, including the Levy Control Framework.

Copyright: EU Law

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to review the restrictions paced on digital locks under the EU Copyright Directive as a result of Britain's decision to leave the EU.

Joseph Johnson: The Government has no plans to review restrictions placed on digital locks, otherwise known as Technical Protection Measures (TPMs). The restrictions placed on the circumvention of TPMs in the EU Information Society Directive derive from the WIPO Copyright Treaty (Article 11) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (Article 18). As a party to these treaties, the UK’s obligations will remain in place after the UK leaves the EU.

Energy: Housing

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the real-terms increase in household energy bills since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Between 2010 and 2016, household energy bills in real terms increased by 9.2 per cent. For gas, the increase was 5.9 per cent, whilst for electricity, it was 13 per cent. This comparison is based on bills based on average consumption levels of 15,000kWh for gas and 3,800kWh for standard electricity.Between 2010 and 2015 domestic energy consumption on a temperature corrected basis fell by 5.2%. Consumption data for 2016 will be published in Energy Trends on March 30th.

Natural Gas

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the proportion of UK energy production that will originate from natural gas in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: We estimate that the proportion of electricity produced in the UK (gross total electricity supplied) which will be generated from natural gas over the next ten years is as follows:2017 38.80%2018 36.78%2019 34.50%2020 34.76%2021 35.38%2022 38.99%2023 41.13%2024 44.58%2025 42.19%2026 37.20% This excludes electricity supplied from other countries via interconnectors.The above data is taken from the reference scenario in Annex J of BEIS’ 2016 Energy and Emissions Projections.This and other scenarios with differing economic growth and fossil fuel prices are available online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/updated-energy-and-emissions-projections-2016

Sunday Trading

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to devolve powers over Sunday trading laws to local authorities.

Margot James: The Government sought to change the rules last year by providing a power so that local authorities could take decisions on extending Sunday trading hours locally. Parliament decided not to support those proposals and the Government has no plans to bring forward further legislation at this time.

Bankruptcy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many (a) businesses and (b) individuals filed for bankruptcy in (i) York, (ii) Yorkshire and the Humber and (iii) England in each year since 2005.

Margot James: Figures for the number of bankruptcy orders in York, Yorkshire & Humber, and England in each year since 2005 can be found in the table below. Bankruptcy applies to individuals only; regional breakdowns for the number of company insolvencies are not currently available.The Insolvency Service compiles its regional bankruptcy order statistics on a calendar year basis, therefore financial year totals are not available. Figures for 2016 will be available on the Insolvency Service website from July/August 2017 (exact date yet to be confirmed), alongside figures for other individual insolvency procedures (individual voluntary arrangements, and debt relief orders).Table 1: Number of Bankruptcy Orders in each Region of England, 2005-20151YearYorkYorkshire and the HumberEngland20051344,27243,10720062145,81257,57620071855,95759,24820081986,66162,00620092367,23268,49320101705,92953,06420111304,31738,3412012843,29529,3992013772,44422,5982014752,03218,9852015471,55014,769Total1,55049,501467,5861 Where individual has provided postcode It should be noted that these figures do not account for any changes in the base population over time. Using the rate of bankruptcies per 10,000 adults allows for a like-for-like comparison across years.Headline figures for insolvencies in England and Wales can be found in the quarterly Insolvency Statistics release, a National Statistics publication. Figures for October - December 2016 were published on 27 January 2017, and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/insolvency-statistics-october-to-december-2016Annual numbers and rates of bankruptcies by region for 2000-2015 are available in the Individual Insolvencies by Location, Age and Gender publication (also includes an Excel based analysis tool), which can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/individual-insolvencies-by-location-age-and-gender-england-and-wales-2015

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

British Indian Ocean Territory: Fines

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2016 to Question 54666, how many fines have been issued to those caught damaging buildings in the British Indian Ocean Territory for each year in the last 30 years for which records are available; and what the (a) individual and (b) total amount of such fines was in each such year.

Sir Alan Duncan: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 16 December 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Records of fines in the Territory only date back to 2013. There have been no fines issued for the damage of property during this time. In 20154 a building on Diego Garcia was damaged. The perpetrators paid for the repairs and so were not prosecuted.

Sir Alan Duncan: Records of fines in the Territory only date back to 2013. There have been no fines issued for the damage of property during this time. In 20154 a building on Diego Garcia was damaged. The perpetrators paid for the repairs and so were not prosecuted.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many contracts procured by his Department and its arms-length bodies require that the contractor pays those of its employees undertaking the work contracted for the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in each of the last three financial years.

Sir Alan Duncan: To date the FCO or FCO Services have not included a stipulation to pay the real living wage in any major contract. All contracts include a requirement to pay the National minimum wage and the Foreign Secretary has asked officials to review the FCO's approach to the London Living wage.Since April 2014, one contract was procured for the British Council in the UK. All the staff under this contract have been paid the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the average response rate was of his Department to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month since July 2016.

Sir Alan Duncan: In line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, the Government publishes statistics on the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within central government, including on timeliness. These can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics

US President: Press Conferences

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his counterpart in the US on the access of British media organisations to official press conference held by the US President.

Sir Alan Duncan: The White House's engagement with the media is a matter for the White House.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 13 January 2017 to Question 58527 and of 1 March 2017 to Question 64848, if he will make an independent assessment of each of the eight airstrikes which were investigated by the Saudi-led coalition's Joint Incident Assessment Team on whether international humanitarian law violations have occurred.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) monitors and analyses incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law violations, such as the eight incidents referred to, using all available information. Details of the MOD's analysis of these allegations are necessarily confidential. It is for the Saudi-led Coalition to investigate such incidents, as they have done through the Joint Incidents Assessment Team.

Israel and Palestinians: Construction

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Israeli Government on the disparity in the allocation of resources for building infrastructure in the Israeli settlements and Palestinian villages.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: While we have not raised this specific issue, we have repeatedly made clear to the Israeli authorities our serious concerns on the need for a planning process that adequately addresses the needs of Palestinian communities.

Yemen: Imports

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that humanitarian and commercial supplies are not prevented from entering Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Since 2015 the Department for International Development has supported the following UN agencies who are helping to facilitate humanitarian and commercial access:- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, who broker humanitarian access for the international response (£1.8 million).- The UN Humanitarian Air Service to provide an air bridge into Yemen for UN and NGO humanitarian staff (£1 million).- The UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to speed up the clearance process for ships and improve commercial confidence (£1.4 million)

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with its Yemeni and other international counterparts on the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Yemen is one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. I regularly discuss the humanitarian situation in Yemen with a wide range of interlocutors including the UN, international partners, Government of Yemen and humanitarian organisations. I most recently discussed Yemen humanitarian issues with UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on March 13 and with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Kuwait on March 16.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received of the suppression of the economic activity among the Baha'i community in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The treatment of the Baha'i community in Iran is of particular concern. The latest report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran sets out the suppression and harassment that Baha'is are subject to in Iran. This includes restrictions on the types of businesses and jobs Baha'is can have, unequal treatment of Baha'i employees, and seizures of Baha'i businesses and property.The UK has consistently pressed Iran to improve its human rights record, both through bilateral engagement and with our international partners. We fully support the Special Rapporteur's recommendation that the Iranian authorities should recognise freedom of religion and belief, and that this entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief free from discriminatory or restrictive measures.

Burma: Human Rights

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Rakhine state, Burma.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 22 March 2017



We have repeatedly called for an independent investigation into human rights violations in Rakhine state. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has already issued a substantive report on the widespread and alarming level of human rights violations carried out by the military in Rakhine State since 9 October. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma also referred to them in her press briefing following her visit in January, and in her report released on 1 March.With our international partners, we are currently negotiating a Resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we are advocating for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma. We are also seeking to establish a mechanism which has the support of both the Burmese authorities and the international community to establish the facts and help deliver accountability for the violations. I expressed my deep concern over the situation in Rakhine when I addressed the Human Rights Council on 28 February. I have also raised our concern directly with Burmese Ministers, most recently on 27 February with U Kyaw Tin, the Burmese Deputy Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.We also fully support the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. I discussed with Mr Annan the Commission's interim recommendations published on 16 March. The Commission is mandated to provide advice on a long term solution to reconciling inter-communal strife in Rakhine and is due to present its final recommendations in the summer. The UK stands ready to provide any appropriate assistance to enable the Burmese authorities to implement its recommendations.

Burma: Human Rights

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Rakhine state, Burma.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 22 March 2017



We have repeatedly called for an independent investigation into human rights violations in Rakhine state. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has already issued a substantive report on the widespread and alarming level of human rights violations carried out by the military in Rakhine State since 9 October. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma also referred to them in her press briefing following her visit in January, and in her report released on 1 March.With our international partners, we are currently negotiating a Resolution at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we are advocating for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma. We are also seeking to establish a mechanism which has the support of both the Burmese authorities and the international community to establish the facts and help deliver accountability for the violations. I expressed my deep concern over the situation in Rakhine when I addressed the Human Rights Council on 28 February. I have also raised our concern directly with Burmese Ministers, most recently on 27 February with U Kyaw Tin, the Burmese Deputy Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.We also fully support the Rakhine Advisory Commission led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. I discussed with Mr Annan the Commission's interim recommendations published on 16 March. The Commission is mandated to provide advice on a long term solution to reconciling inter-communal strife in Rakhine and is due to present its final recommendations in the summer. The UK stands ready to provide any appropriate assistance to enable the Burmese authorities to implement its recommendations.

Royal Yacht

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his contribution on 13 March 2017, to the debate on Budget Resolutions (HC Deb, col 84), whether he has had discussions with the private sector on the construction or commissioning of a new royal yacht.

Alok Sharma: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Royal Yacht

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his contribution on 13 March 2017, to the debate on Budget Resolutions (HC Deb, col 84) and pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2016 to Question 47643, whether he has held discussions with the Department for International Trade on the effect of a privately-funded royal yacht on securing trade deals.

Alok Sharma: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Occupied Territories: Demolition

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his counterpart in Israel to reverse demolition orders relating to the village of Khan Al Ahmar in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), raised the UK’s concerns about demolitions, including the village of Khan Al Ahmar, with Prime Minister Netanyahu during his visit to Israel on 8 March. The Israeli High Court has approved a temporary injunction extending the deadline for the demolition order against the structures in Khan Al Ahmar to March 30.

Andargachew Tsege

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the legality of Andy Tsege's (a) trial, (b) arrest and rendition and (c) detention.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: ​It is Mr Tsege's right and wish to have access to legal advice and that is why we have pursued this for him. I am pleased that, on 15 March, Mr Tsege had an introductory meeting with a lawyer, allowing him to discuss his options under Ethiopian law.The Ethiopian and Yemeni authorities have both stated that they have a bilateral treaty that permits Mr Tsege's extradition to Ethiopia. Although we have requested sight of it, we have not seen this agreement and are not in a position to form a view as to the legality of the process in this case.Our consular priorities continue to be Mr Tsege's wellbeing, his access to legal representation, and to ensure that the death sentence is not carried out.

Leader of the House

George Osborne

Tom Watson: To ask the Leader of the House, whether the right hon. Member for Tatton will continue to (a) have access to Privy Council papers, (b) attend full meetings of the Privy Council and (c) receive sensitive information on Privy Counsellor terms after his appointment as Editor of the London Evening Standard.

Mr David Lidington: Only serving Government Ministers have a role in the Privy Council’s day-to-day business. Privy Counsellors who have left government do not attend Privy Council meetings, nor are they consulted on Privy Council business.

Department for International Development

Food Aid

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much of the UK's annual aid budget was spent on direct food aid globally in 2015.

Rory Stewart: In 2015 over £300 million of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) delivered by DFID was directed towards food aid. A further £200 million was delivered through multi-lateral organisations that work in humanitarian response to tackle poverty and hunger and £80 million directed towards Basic Nutrition programmes and Food Aid for Livestock.In addition in 2015 over £600 million was spent on Material Relief for humanitarian responses, which includes cash transfers. This provides flexible assistance to those struggling in humanitarian crises, enabling them to buy food and meet the medical and shelter needs of themselves and their dependents.

Israel: Demolition

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians displaced by the expected demolition of Khan Al Ahmar in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Rory Stewart: The UK provides emergency response to communities facing demolition and displacement in Area C and East Jerusalem through core funding to the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

Department for Education

Lifelong Education

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.11 of the Spring Budget 2017, when the funding for lifelong learning pilots will be rolled out; and how that funding will be allocated.

Robert Halfon: We are in the process of developing pilots to be delivered during 2017/18 and 2018/19. The funding will be targeted on interventions that test and deliver the most effective approaches to breaking down barriers to lifelong learning.

Free Schools: Sponsorship

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which university vice-chancellors she has met to discuss sponsoring free schools.

Nick Gibb: My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State has held meetings with vice chancellors and representative bodies, including Universities UK, as part of her engagement with the higher education sector on how it can increase its involvement with schools, including through the establishment of free schools. The Government is currently considering responses to the Schools that work for everyone consultation and will respond in due course.

Apprentices: Southampton Itchen

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeship providers operate in Southampton Itchen constituency.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to increase competition among apprenticeship providers.

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of apprenticeship starts in Southampton are with (a) levy-paying and (b) non-levy-paying businesses.

Robert Halfon: There are two providers directly delivering apprenticeships in the Southampton Itchen constituency in 2016/17 funding year. Information on the proportion of apprenticeships starts in Southampton with (a) levy-paying and (b) non-levy-paying businesses is not available. The Apprenticeships Levy comes into effect from April 2017, as part of a wider suite of reforms to improve the quality and sustainability of the apprenticeship system. There were 950 apprenticeship starts in the Southampton Itchen constituency in 2015/16. Publication of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers on 14 March 2017 means that employers have a real choice in the training they select, so that they get the skills they need to grow their business. The Register will also support a genuine increase in the quality of training for apprentices and creates a step up in the quality expected of apprenticeship provision – ensuring that only organisations that have passed our quality tests can deliver apprenticeships. By regularly giving new providers a chance to get on the register, it will also encourage diversity and competition in the marketplace for training providers, supporting quality and employer choice – they will determine which providers they select based on business measures such as cost, timeframe and location.

University Technical Colleges

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the effect of lowering to 11 the age of entry for universal technical colleges on the range of educational choices available for young people.

Nick Gibb: University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are technical schools, normally for students aged 14-19. However, like any other academy, UTCs can apply to change their age range through requesting a significant change.No formal assessment has been made of the effect of lowering to 11 the age of entry to UTCs but we recognise the challenges that any school with an atypical age range may face.We will consider any applications from UTCs to change their age range.

Further Education: Expenditure

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spent on post-16 education and skills in the last year for which data is available.

Robert Halfon: The latest figures we have available are for 2015-16 and in that year both the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills funded post-16 education and training. The breakdown is as follows: Funding for 16 to 19 year olds in colleges, school sixth forms, and commercial and charitable providers was £5,918 million;Apprenticeships funding for 16-18 year olds was £730 million;Further Education funding for those aged 19 and above (including adult apprenticeships) was £2,409 million. These figures show funding for participation only and exclude financial support. Furthermore, by 2020, funding available to support adult FE participation is planned to be higher than at any time in England’s history. We have also protected the base rate of funding at £4,000 per student for all types of 16-19 providers until 2020. And as announced in the Budget, there will subsequently be over £500 million per year of additional funding for 16-19 to deliver the new Technical routes once they are fully rolled out.

Apprentices: Finance

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of introducing a cap on the level of financial support available for each apprenticeship contract; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Halfon: The current invitation to tender for the delivery of apprenticeships to employers who don’t pay the levy has a maximum initial contract award of £5 million for each successful training provider applicant. This initial limit was put in place to ensure adequate coverage of geographic and sector areas as well as adequate capacity and capability to deliver at that level.In total, 97% of providers who currently hold funding agreements with the Skills Funding Agency currently have contracts of lower than £5 million.

Schools: Finance

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of recent changes to the National Funding Formula on the deprivation attainment gap in schools.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to creating a country that works for everyone, regardless of their background. We want all children to reach their full potential and to succeed in adult life. Disadvantage has a significant impact on pupils’ attainment. This impact is seen throughout the school system and compounded in areas of disadvantage. In recognition of that, our formula recognises educational disadvantage in its widest sense, using different indicators within the deprivation factor into target funding widely. We want, in particular, to include those pupils who are not necessarily eligible for free school meals, but whose families are still struggling to get by.

Classroom Assistants

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many full-time equivalent classroom teachers were employed in schools in (a) Batley and Spen constituency, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England in each of the last seven years.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the number of full time equivalent classroom teachers in service in state funded schools in Batley and Spen constituency, West Yorkshire and England in each year from November 2010 to November 2015. 201020112012201320142015Batley and Spen770770820840840850West Yorkshire16,82016,29016,80016,47017,03017,340England375,260371,670379,340385,460388,650387,690Source: School Workforce Census Notes:Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 FTE classroom teachers.In 2011, two schools in the Batley and Spen did not provide data on teachers, so figures are not comparable with other years.

Schools: Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were used to set a weighting of 0.1 per cent for the mobility factor in the most recent proposal for the Schools National Funding Formula; and what criteria will be used to determine that weighting in the longer term.

Nick Gibb: In the second stage of the national funding formula consultation, we set out how we will calculate the weighting given to the mobility factor in the first year of implementation. In 2018-19, we will allocate funding to local authorities on a historic basis, reflecting the amount they put through the mobility factor in the previous year.In the second stage consultation document, we also confirmed our intention to work with stakeholders to develop a more sophisticated mobility factor for use from 2019-20 onwards. That will include consideration of the appropriate weighting for the factor in the longer term.

Schools: Standards

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish (a) a summary of responses to its consultation entitled Schools that work for everyone, published in September 2016 and (b) the Government's response to that consultation.

Nick Gibb: We are currently analysing all responses to the consultation, and plan to publish our formal response in the spring.

Schools: Transport

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the allocation for extended rights to free home-to-school travel will be published for each fiscal year from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Caroline Dinenage: We aim to publish extended rights allocations in good time to enable local authorities to make suitable arrangements for the transport of eligible pupils before the start of the academic year. We expect to publish allocations for 2017-18 shortly. As the timing of the publication of the allocations can change from year to year, we cannot confirm the publication dates for 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Apprentices: Taxation

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships in each NUTS 1 region her Department envisages will be created as a result of the apprenticeship levy in 2017-18.

Robert Halfon: The Apprenticeships Levy comes into effect from April 2017, as part of a wider suite of reforms to improve the quality and sustainability of the apprenticeship system in England. Future availability and location of apprenticeships is dependent on employers recruiting apprentices and offering opportunities. We want to encourage more employers to offer more apprenticeships and our reforms provide them with the opportunity to do so. The apprenticeship service helps employers to select the appropriate apprenticeship for their needs; choose the training they want to purchase; choose an assessment organisation and advertise and recruit to their vacancies. As part of the reforms, employers across the country are designing new apprenticeships that meet their business and skills needs; the quality of apprenticeships is increasing through more rigorous end-point assessment and grading; and new funding policy will make it easier for employers so they can invest in apprentices and offer more opportunities.

Employment: Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of people under the age of 24 who are in (a) training, (b) employment and (c) education in (i) York Central constituency, (ii) York unitary authority area and (iii) England in the last 12 months.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of young people under the age of 24 years who are in (a) training, (b) employment and (c) education in (i) York Central constituency, (ii) York Unitary Authority and (iii) England.

Robert Halfon: The table shows the latest estimates of the number and proportion of young people in England aged 16-24 by education participation and economic activity. In 2016 Quarter 4, 3,314,000 young people aged 16-24 in England were in full/part time education or other training (55.8 per cent), and 3,440,000 (57.9 per cent) were employed. It is important to note that individuals can be employed and in education or training, as shown in the table. Also, the table shows that 11.3 per cent of individuals aged 16-24 in England were not in education, employment or training (NEET), which is published in the NEET quarterly brief and is the lowest estimate since records began: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/neet-statistics-quarterly-brief-october-to-december-2016 Table- Labour market and education status of the 16-24 population, Q4 2016 Full-time educationPart-time education & other trainingNot in education or trainingTotalEmployed751,000733,0001,956,0003,440,000Unemployed173,00022,000279,000474,000Inactive1,516,000118,000392,0002,027,000Total2,441,000873,0002,627,0005,941,000Employed12.6%12.3%32.9%57.9%Unemployed2.9%0.4%4.7%8.0%Inactive25.5%2.0%6.6%34.1%Total41.1%14.7%44.2%100.0%Source: Labour Force SurveyNote: Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Information for the 16-24 year old age group is not available at the Constituency or Unitary Authority level, but information is published at the Local Authority level for the 16-17 age group: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participation-in-education-and-training-by-local-authority

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of prisoners who have been imprisoned over 100 miles from their home in England in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) seeks to hold prisoners in the most appropriate security conditions, in prisons that are able to meet the need presented by their individual case, at each stage of their time in custody. On 30 September 2016 there were 12,678 prisoners with a recorded origin address in England held in prisons over 100 miles from their home address. The home address can include an address to which offenders intend to return on discharge or next of kin address. If no address is given, an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident and these figures are included in the answer. All data has been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Expenditure

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the prisons budget was spent on prisoners' (a) education, (b) healthcare and (c) rehabilitation in 2015-16.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As part of our prison safety and reform plans, we are giving governors in all prisons more powers and more responsibility. This includes key roles at each stage of the healthcare commissioning cycle, and the ability to decide how to structure their education regime, how it is sequenced and who provides it. These new responsibilities for prison governors will be accompanied by new accountability, buttressed by a set of performance standards that will hold them to account for the progress prisoners make. The budget for education and healthcare in 2015-16 was the responsibility of other Government Departments or a devolved function of the Welsh Government. The Department for Business Innovation and Skills allocated £128.9m for prison education in that year. The Department for Health allocated spend on offender health in 2015/16 but it is not possible to breakdown how much of this was spent in prisons. In the case of some Privately Managed Prisons, education and healthcare was delivered by the prison operator and funded as part of the overall contract price. These costs are therefore not all held in the budget overseen by NOMS to deliver services in prisons. We do not allocate a separate budget for rehabilitation. Offender rehabilitation is an integral part of the prison regime, from offending behaviour programmes to working in prison catering services.

Ministry of Justice: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts procured by her Department and its arms-length bodies are covered by TUPE regulations in each of the last three financial years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The MOJ is working with the Government Commercial Function to capture such data going forward as part of our investment in the development of our risk and controls framework.

Harassment: Court Orders

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many restraining orders issued (a) prohibited online contact and (b) restricted the ability of the subject of the order to take civil court actions against the victim in the latest year for which figures are available.

Dr Phillip Lee: Information on the number of restraining orders issued by courts is reported to and centrally collated by the Ministry of Justice. However, the specific details of the prohibitions contained within these orders are not centrally collated due to their complexity. This information is held on individual court files and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Justice: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts procured by her Department and its arms-length bodies require that the contractor pays those of its employees undertaking the work contracted for the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation in each of the last three financial years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost The MOJ is working with the Government Commercial Function to capture such data going forward as part of our investment in the development of our risk and controls framework.

Ministry of Justice: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average response rate was of her Department to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month since July 2016.

Dr Phillip Lee: Freedom of Information statistics are Official Statistics and are governed by the standards set out by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) in their Code of Practice. To publish information outside of the release timetable would be a breach of Protocol 2 of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The latest Freedom of Information statistics were published in December 2016 and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/freedom-of-information-statistics-july-to-september-2016--2

Victim Support Schemes

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which victims' organisations her Department's Ministers or officials have met since 1 January 2017.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Department’s Ministers and officials regularly engage with victims’ organisations in relation to victims’ policy matters, to listen to and understand issues and concerns as well as to make sure that they can contribute to policy work. In line with management of the policy on provision of emotional and practical support for victims of crime and witnesses, the Department also has regular business as usual and ad hoc meetings with the victims’ organisations on grant funds. Since 1 January 2017 Ministers and officials have met with a range of victims’ organisations on a number of topics. These are detailed in the attached.



68022 - List of meetings with victims' org
(Word Document, 47.5 KB)

Prisoners: Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice of 1 March 2017, Official Report, column 102WH, what recent assessment her Department has made of the risk of ligature points in relation to incidents of suicide or self-harm by prisoners.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The risk from ligature points in prison cells is well understood. Where necessary, we provide safer cells, which are designed to minimise the availability of ligature points and thereby to make an act of suicide or self-harm as difficult as possible. This is an important part of our approach to suicide prevention. Where a prisoner is accommodated in a safer cell this forms only a part of the package of support measures that are put in place to manage the risk of self-harm or suicide.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many personal independence payment assessment decisions have been overturned at tribunal stage since 1 January 2017.

Sir Oliver Heald: Data from 1 January 2017 have not yet been published. Information about the number and outcomes of Social Security and Child Support appeals is published on gov.uk. The most recent statistics, for the period October to December 2016, can be viewed at www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2016.

Prisons and Courts Bill

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration was given to including punishment as a purpose of prisons in clause 1(2) of the Prisons and Courts Bill.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Prisons and Courts Bill is clear that prisons are there to deliver the sentences of the court – depriving people of their liberty to punish them for their crimes. This reflects and underlines the existing principles set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which states that one of the purposes of sentencing is the punishment of offenders.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of changes to the discount rate for motor insurance on the take-up of such insurance.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of changes to the discount rate for motor insurance on the average cost of such insurance.

Sir Oliver Heald: On 27 February the Lord Chancellor reduced the personal injury discount rate set under section 1 of the Damages Act 1996 to minus 0.75%. The new rate came into effect on 20 March. The government acknowledges that the change in the rate will have significant implications across the public and private sectors and has committed to review the legal framework for the setting of the rate to ensure it remains fit for purpose in the future. A consultation paper will be published before Easter. Following the consultation, the government will consider whether there is a better or fairer framework for claimants and defendants, and bring forward any necessary legislation at an early stage.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to answer Question 62919, tabled on 2 February 2017 by the hon. Member for Coventry South on prisoners.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Question 62919 tabled on 2 February 2017 by the hon. Member for Coventry South was answered on 23 March 2017.

Prisons: Labour Turnover

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of turnover of prison staff; and what steps she is taking to support retention and recruitment of such staff.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on the NOMS workforce and staff turnover by region is published quarterly at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics. The Government is determined to ensure that prisons are properly staffed to deliver safety and security. We will be recruiting an additional 2,500 prison officers across the prison estate and have run a localised recruitment process at 30 of our difficult to recruit sites to support the national recruitment campaign. At 31 prisons with the most difficult recruitment and retention issues, officers now receive a boost under a scheme offering higher starting pay and an additional allowance of up to £5,000 and 2000 new promotions. We are addressing attrition levels in a number of ways, including the appointment of 75 mentors dedicated to supporting new recruits in their first year, and the setting up of a HR Response Team to provide interventions to establishments with rising attrition.

Prisons: Television

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2017 to Question 67198, on prisons: electronic equipment, what proportion of the total cost of the issued 19,000 television sets is expected to be recovered.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The provision of in-cell television, including the purchase of new and replacement television sets, is entirely financed from monies collected from prisoners.

Prisoners: Families

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to announce a date for the publication of the Farmer Review.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Lord Farmer was commissioned to undertake a review of family engagement, and to make proposals that will augment the Prison Safety and Reform agenda.His report will be published in the coming months.

Church Commissioners

Church Commissioners: Procurement

Jon Trickett: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2017 to Question 64993, on procurement, what the pay grades are of the (a) five members of staff in the property investments team and (b) seven members of staff in the investment team.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The staff referred to in Question 64993 are not employed in a pay banding system. As previously mentioned in the answer to Question 62061 the salaries of staff in the investment teams are compared against market data from similar institutional investors each year. We pay in the lower to median quartiles of that data.

Churches: Yoga

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what guidance is issued to churches on allowing church premises to be used for yoga classes.

Dame Caroline Spelman: The Church of England takes a flexible approach to yoga classes in church halls, with decisions left to the discretion of the local Parochial Church Council. Advice and guidance is available for parishes that are considering hiring their church hall out, which can be found here https://www.churchofengland.org/media/59302/NRM%20guidance.doc

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Tickets: Touting

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to tackle the use of computer systems by ticket tout companies to purchase multiple tickets for events.

Matt Hancock: The Government has a continuing interest in the area of secondary ticketing, and recognises the process of distributing and buying tickets can often be a cause for public frustration and concern. We are determined to crackdown on unacceptable behaviour and improve fans’ chances of buying tickets at a reasonable price. An independent review of consumer protection measures was commissioned by the Government in 2015, undertaken by Professor Waterson, which was published in May 2016.The report recognised that the use of computer software or ticketing ‘bots’ deprives fans of the chance to acquire tickets at the price established by the event organiser. The Government published its response to the review on 13th March 2017, which welcomed its findings and accepted its nine recommendations in full. As part of our response, and in response to a series of roundtable discussions with industry and law enforcement agencies, we have tabled an amendment to the Digital Economy Bill which will give us the power to create a specific offence of using a ticketing bot to purchase more tickets than the maximum permitted, to put beyond doubt the illegality of this practice. Those found guilty of this offence will face an unlimited fine in England and Wales.

Broadband

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with broadband providers on how they can improve broadband speed in the parliamentary constituencies with the slowest service.

Matt Hancock: We hold regular discussions with broadband providers about improving broadband speeds and coverage to all parts of the UK. Considerable progress has been made with only 1 per cent of all UK premises unable to access speeds of 2 Megabits per second or better in December 2016 compared to 11 per cent in 2010. Through the Government’s Better Broadband Scheme, all homes and businesses can now access broadband speeds of at least 2 Megabits per second which is fast enough for everyone to be able to use government services online. These scheme vouchers can be aggregated amongst the community and used collectively as part of a community solution. Further information can be found at: https://basicbroadbandchecker.culture.gov.uk/, Broadband providers are increasing their commercial investment guaranteeing higher speeds and extended coverage. They are also responding positively to community-led schemes designed to improve broadband speeds and coverage. Further information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-led-broadband-schemes

Football: Corruption

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings she has with the FA on progress on its ongoing investigation into allegations of corruption.

Tracey Crouch: I regularly meet with the FA and discuss a number of issues, including matters relating to integrity in football. The integrity of sport is absolutely paramount and we expect the highest standards of governance and transparency from our sports governing bodies.

Football: Corruption

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what types of assistance her Department has provided the FA to aid its investigation into allegations of corruption.

Tracey Crouch: It is a matter for the FA to investigate and charge participants when there is sufficient evidence of wrongdoing in the game. If this is of a criminal nature then they must present all evidence to the police for further investigation.

Alexander Thomson: Anniversaries

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on celebrating the bicentenary of the architect Alexander Thomson.

Tracey Crouch: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has regular discussions with the Scottish Government on a range of matters but she has had none recently specifically regarding the Bicentenary of Alexander Thomson. Heritage and Culture is a devolved matter and Architectural policy sits with DCLG. DCMS Officials are aware that the Scotland Office have been in discussions with the Alexander Greek Society about a reception at Dover House to celebrate the Bicentenary of the great Scottish Architect.

Culture: Equal Pay

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the gender pay gap in the cultural industries.

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to address the gender pay gap in cultural industries.

Matt Hancock: We have no such assessment . From April, large employers will be required to publish any differences in average earnings and bonuses paid to women and men. The Government’s Equalities Office (GEO) are responsible for policies regarding gender equality.

Swimming: West Yorkshire

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) children and (b) adults who swim regularly in West Yorkshire.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of (a) children and (b) adults who swim regularly in (i) Greater London and (ii) the London Borough of Newham.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to supporting everyone to get active and participation in swimming has an important role to play.Sport England has invested more than £40,000 of National Lottery funding in a Kirklees swimming programme and since 2010 has invested £1.5 million of Lottery funding in swimming in West Yorkshire.Since 2010, Sport England has invested £35,407,363 of National Lottery money has been invested in a range of swimming projects across Greater London, including £34,442,800 in swimming in Newham and the London Aquatics Centre.Sport England is also in discussion with the Amateur Swimming Association regarding the investment it will be making in swimming for the 2017-21 period.Sporting Future set out the Government's commitment to ensuring that no child left school unable to swim and commissioned the Amateur Swimming Association's Swim Group to undertake a review. The Group is finalising its report and will be sharing its findings with government shortly.

Cycling

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to promote mountain biking as a sport.

Tracey Crouch: Government is committed to encouraging more people to engage in sport and physical activity, regardless of their background or level of ability. Government's Sporting Future strategy published in December 2015 set out that, in future, public investment in sport and physical activity will be based on the contribution that organisations can make to five broad outcomes: Physical Wellbeing; Mental Wellbeing; Individual Development; Social and Community Development; and Economic Development. Since 2010 Sport England has invested over £4.7 million of National Lottery money in projects and facilities to get more people mountain biking. Sport England will continue to work with British Cycling to ensure that more people from all backgrounds are encouraged to take up Mountain Biking and to enjoy the benefits it brings.

Broadband

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the UK Digital Strategy 2017, published on 1 March 2017 by her Department, if she will publish the evidential basis for the statement that superfast broadband is on track to reach 95 per cent of UK premises by December 2017; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: Independent sources such as thinkbroadband (http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/) show UK superfast broadband coverage, defined as premises having access to speeds of more than 24Mbps, is now over 92%. The further contracted delivery from publicly-funded projects plus commercial plans from providers mean that the government is confident that 95% coverage can be reached by December 2017.

BBC Board: Wales

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will publish the correspondence between her Department and the Welsh Government on the issue of the appointment of a Welsh member to the BBC Board.

Matt Hancock: It is not our practice to publish ministerial correspondence.

Public Libraries: Complaints

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2017 to Question 68114, on public libraries: complaints, which 15 local authorities have been investigated since 2010; and what the outcomes were of those investigations.

Mr Rob Wilson: The local authorities that are being or have been investigated are Lancashire, Lambeth, Southampton, Harrow, Sheffield, Newcastle, Lincolnshire, Bolton, Brent, Isle of Wight, Lewisham, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Doncaster and Surrey. In respect of Lancashire, Lambeth and Southampton these investigations are on-going and no final decision has been made. With regard to Harrow, Sheffield, Newcastle, Lincolnshire, Bolton, London Borough of Brent, Isle of Wight, Lewisham the Secretary of State decided with each of these cases not to direct a local inquiry. In the case of Somerset and Gloucestershire no action was required as both local authorities reverted to their original library service provision following successful judicial review challenges and with respect to Doncaster and Surrey no action was taken.

Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what state pensions payments have been made to UK citizens living in the EU in each of the last five years.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what have been the (a) cash values and (b) annual percentage increases have been of state pensions payments to UK citizens living in the EU in each of the last five years.

Richard Harrington: No information is available concerning the number of UK citizens who are in receipt of a UK State Pension. This is because the UK State Pension is a contributory based pension payable worldwide regardless of nationality to those who meet the eligibility criteria. Table 1 shows the annual expenditure of the State Pension in the EU (excluding the UK) and how many individuals received the State Pension in EU countries (excluding the UK) in each year. Table 1: State Pension recipients and expenditure in the EU (excluding the UK) 2011-122012-132013-142014-152015-16State Pension expenditure in EU (excl. UK) -  figures in £ millions, nominal terms1,4901,6281,6691,7491,814Number of recipients of State Pension in the EU (excl. UK)431,500444,400455,700464,500470,400Source: State Pension expenditure by country of residence, 1995/96 to 2015/16DWP’s Work and Pension Longitudinal Study (WPLS) Table 2 shows the weekly standard rate of the basic State Pension (bSP) in each of the last six financial years. DWP’s Annual Abstract of Statistics provides information on the uprating of the State Pension. Table 2: Standard rate of basic State Pension for recipients living in EU countries 2011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-17Basic State Pension (weekly rate)£102.15£107.45£110.15£113.10£115.95£119.30Source: Abstract of statistics 2016: tables A new State Pension has been introduced for those reaching State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016. The standard rate in 2016-17 is £155.65 a week. Further information on the cash values of all elements of the State Pension and annual percentage increases can be found here: 2012-13:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130128102031/http:/www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/benefitrates2012.pdf 2013-14 & 2014-15:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/proposed-benefit-and-pension-rates-2014-to-2015 2015-16 & 2016-17:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/480317/proposed_benefit_and_pension_rates_2016_to_2017.pdf

Department for Work and Pensions: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's average response rate was to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month from July 2016 to date.

Caroline Nokes: FOI statistics are Official Statistics and are governed by the standards set out by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) in their Code of Practice. The latest Freedom of Information statistics were published in December 2016 and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/freedom-of-information-statistics-july-to-september-2016--2

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department became aware of the number of women born in the 1950s who would be affected by the acceleration in state pension age.

Ian Blackford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his most recent estimate is of the number of women who will be affected by the acceleration in the state pension age for women born in the 1950s.

Richard Harrington: The Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the equalisation of State Pension age, affecting women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953, and brought forward the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 which affected women and men born between 6 December 1953 and 5 April 1960. The Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, included estimates of the number of people affected, based on the latest population projections from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) at the time (the 2010-based principal projections), and stated that 2.6 million women and 2.3 million men in Great Britain would be affected. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf The most recent estimates of the number of people affected are calculated from the 2014-based principal population projections from ONS, which were published in October 2015. Using this data, the latest estimate of the number of women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 is 2.5 million. This figure is for Great Britain and is based on DWP calculations using ONS statistics. Note that this figure includes approximately 0.1 million women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 who were born between 1 January 1960 and 5 April 1960.

Department for Work and Pensions: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page nine of the Office of National Statistics report on Public sector employment data, published on 15 March 2017, for what reasons around 100 civil servants transferred from his Department to the Cabinet Office on 1 June 2016; and what positions those civil servants held in his Department prior to their transfer.

Caroline Nokes: Prior to 1 June 2016, DWP administered the pay, allowances and similar employment arrangements for employees of Civil Service Employee Policy. This is the organisation which undertakes human resources policy work across government, not for DWP alone. In view of that organisation’s cross-government role, as a machinery of government change, responsibility for the employment administration of the employees transferred from DWP to the Cabinet Office.

Occupational Pensions

Corri Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on behalf of DEC, Compaq and Hewlett Packard pensioners with pre-1997 pension contributions in resolving their case.

Richard Harrington: I have met senior representatives from the company to present the pensioners’ arguments and make clear my interest in the matter. However, the company is meeting its legal obligations. Any increases to pensions in payment are likely to mean significant additional expenditure for any scheme and its sponsoring employer. Therefore, the Government has no plans to require all schemes to pay increases on pre-1997 pensions.

Swine Flu: Vaccination

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on legal fees in all stages of legal proceedings related to Pandemrix.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department has spent £33,255.39 on legal fees in all stages of legal proceedings related to Pandemrix. This figure represents the costs of external Counsel and services provided by the Government Legal Department’s Litigation team. In addition, the Department has received support from the Government Legal Department’s Advisory team but this was provided as part of a broader fee arrangement and it is therefore not possible to separately identify the fee element relating to any particular case or group of cases.

Ministry of Defence

Defence: Expenditure

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's spend was for (a) submarines, (b) combat air, (c) air support, (d) ships, (e) helicopters, (f) land equipment, (g) weapons and (h) intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance in each of the last six years.

Harriett Baldwin: Expenditure for each of the categories listed is provided below. The values are based on expenditure reported by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) operating centres, and incorporate costs relating to equipment procurement and support. The values also include DE&S operating expenditure. Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Operating Centre expenditure (£ billion)Financial yearSubmarinesCombat AirAir SupportShipsHelicoptersLand EquipmentWeaponsISTAR*2015-163.62.31.82.11.11.01.10.32014-153.41.92.01.91.41.11.20.52013-143.11.82.02.01.61.01.10.62012-132.72.01.21.61.61.21.30.62011-122.42.91.41.61.71.51.20.72010-112.33.11.41.61.92.01.10.6*Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance

Defence: Expenditure

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the change  has been in his Department's spend on (a) military and civilian staff, (b) equipment procurement, (c) equipment support, (d) infrastructure, (e) other and (f) consumption of inventory costs in the last six years.

Sir Michael Fallon: Full details of the Department's spend can be found in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts, published at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-annual-reports

Japan: Guided Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to expand missile-related industrial collaboration between the UK and Japan.

Harriett Baldwin: Japan is an important ally for the UK, and there are growing levels of co-operation between the UK and Japan, which is entirely consistent with the Defence Equipment Co-operation Framework treaty signed by the two nations in 2013. Under the auspices of that treaty the UK and Japan continue to look at what areas of mutual interest and benefit there are, and those discussions may lead to new co-operative programmes. However, there are currently no missile related programmes in place beyond an on-going feasibility assessment of a joint new air-to-air missile programme, which is the potential development of a new variant of the Meteor beyond visual range missile incorporating some Japanese technology.

Warships: Shipbuilding

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department will respond to Sir John Parker's Independent Report to inform the UK National Shipbuilding Strategy.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 February 2017 to Question 64890 to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Wayne David).



64890 - WQnA extract on Warship Shipbuilding
(Word Document, 32.39 KB)

Japan: Guided Weapons

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value is of the UK-Japanese Joint New Air-to-Air Missile programme.

Harriett Baldwin: It is too early to answer this question.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF pilots are trained to operate Lightning II jets.

Harriett Baldwin: As at 17 March 2017, eight RAF and five Royal Navy pilots have been trained to operate the F35 Lightning aircraft.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF pilots his Department plans to train to operate Lightning II jets in each of the next 10 years.

Harriett Baldwin: The F-35 Lightning programme will train sufficient pilots to deliver operational requirements.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which combined cadet forces (CCF) based in state comprehensive schools received funds from the public purse in the last three years; and how much of those funds each such CCF received in each of those years.

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list the combined cadet forces (CCF) that are in receipt of funding from the public purse that are based in fee-paying independent schools; and how much funding each such CCF receives.

Mark Lancaster: The requested information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.The funding support which the Ministry of Defence provides for Combined Cadet Forces (CCF) units is based on the number of active cadets and the number of single Service sections within the unit, irrespective of whether the unit is in an independent or state school. State schools will receive the same funding support for their CCFs as fee-paying schools with the same number of cadets and single Service sections.

HMS Queen Elizabeth: ICT

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment has been carried out on the resilience of computer systems on-board the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Harriett Baldwin: Testing of the computer systems used on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers has been undertaken both on-board, as well as at a dedicated shore-based mission system integration facility. HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently in her test and integration phase to demonstrate the readiness of her on-board systems to begin sea trials this summer.

Aircraft Carriers

Steven Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to employ service personnel for specialist roles in the Carrier Strike Group.

Harriett Baldwin: As part of Joint Force 2025, the Royal Navy continues to develop and deliver the individual training that will enable personnel to operate and maintain safely all the equipment and systems required to run the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.

France: Military Alliances

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his European counterpart on the European Defence Fund and its effect on plans for cooperation on defence equipment capability with France after the UK leaves the EU.

Harriett Baldwin: Discussions on the European Defence Fund have so far largely taken place in European Commission sponsored meetings with EU member states at official level. Much of the detail of the European Defence Fund is still being developed, however, we are confident that there will be no negative effects on UK-French equipment cooperation.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Tom Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland are serving in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Air Force and (c) Royal Navy.

Mark Lancaster: The information is not held in the format requested. Information on the stationed location of UK Regular Service Personnel in Northern Ireland as at 1 January 2017 is given below. Army2,070Royal Air Force60Royal Navy10

World War II: Military Decorations

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what constitutes official military evidence for the purpose of meeting the qualifying criteria for the Arctic Star.

Mike Penning: To be eligible to receive the Arctic Star, there must be official military evidence of at least one day's crossing into the Arctic Circle 66° 32N of the equator during the period 3 September 1939 to 8 May 1945 inclusive.The following sources constitute official military evidence:Individual service recordsShips ManifestsShip LogsCentral Records CardsMedal Cards and Pay and Victual tracesOfficial flight and sortie recordsCasualty files

Ministry of Defence: Leyal

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's personnel have visited LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: The number of Ministry of Defence Disposal Services Authority (DSA) personnel that visited LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd in each of the last five years is as follows: YearNumber of DSA Staff2012420134201432015320163 These visits were made to prepare audit reports on the ships recycled. The reports are published on the gov.uk website at:www.gov.uk/government/groups/disposal-services-authority#ship-recycling

Ministry of Defence: Leyal

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff of LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd are working on secondment at his Department.

Harriett Baldwin: There are no LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd employees seconded to the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence: Leyal

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what fees his Department has received from LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd in each of the last five years.

Harriett Baldwin: Information about sale receipts received from LEYAL Ship Recycling Ltd in each of the last five years is contained in the following table: YearValue of Sale Receipts per year (£ million)20122.1520138.8620142.1520152.1320162.88

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans that HMS Queen Elizabeth will achieve carrier strike capability.

Harriett Baldwin: HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH is planned to achieve an initial operating capability for Carrier Strike in December 2020.

HMS Queen Elizabeth

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what date has been set for the inaugural sailing of the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 February 2017 to Question 62463.



HMS  Queen Elizabeth
(Word Document, 31.96 KB)

Aircraft Carriers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy senior personnel are working with the US Navy to develop a UK-specific Carrier Enabled Power Projection doctrine and assessing interoperability.

Harriett Baldwin: We have a broad range of senior military personnel and civil servants routinely engaged with their US counterparts in developing UK Carrier Enabled Power Projection doctrine, and assessing interoperability requirements and opportunities.

Aircraft Carriers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are deployed to an operationally deployed US Navy carrier strike group.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK has Armed Forces personnel assigned to US Navy Carrier Strike Groups. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces: USA

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are deployed with (a) US Fleet Forces Command, (b) US Pacific Fleet, (c) US Naval Forces Europe - Naval Forces Africa, (d) US Naval Forces Central Command, (e) US Naval Forces Southern Command, (f) US Naval Special Warfare Command, (g) US Navy Operational Test and Evaluation Force, (h) US Navy Naval Warfare Command, (i) Military Sealift Command and (j) US Navy Naval Reserve Forces.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK has Armed Forces personnel assigned to various commands in the US. I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Aircraft Carriers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many US Navy personnel are working at his Department's Development, Concept and Doctrine Centre in support of developing a UK-specific Carrier Enabled Power Projection doctrine.

Harriett Baldwin: There are currently no US Navy personnel working in the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on each Substitute Service (a) Family and (b) Single Accommodation in each year from 2010 to 2017.

Mark Lancaster: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the capacity is of (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living  Accommodation; and where such accommodation by type is located.

Mark Lancaster: The quantities of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) dwellings are shown by area/county below as of February 2017. There are approximately 145,000 Single Living Accommodation bed spaces, of which 126,000 are in the UK and 19,000 overseas, as of 2016.  County/AreaNo  of SFACounty/AreaNo of SFACounty/AreaNo  of SFAABERDEENSHIRE16ANGUS82ARGYLL AND BUTE595AVON267AYRSHIRE26BEDFORDSHIRE596BERKS1126BUCKS1024CAITHNESS4CAMBS1008CHESHIRE200CLWYD2CORNWALL612COUNTY ANTRIM997COUNTY DOWN569COUNTY DURHAM109CUMBRIA36DEVON1667DORSET1100DUMBARTON4DUMFRIES3DYFED185EAST SUSSEX6EAST YORKSHIRE14EDINBURGH546ESSEX1219FIFE594GLOUCESTERSHIRE761GWENT195GWYNEDD165HANTS6960HEREFORDSHIRE306HERTS380INVERNESS-SHIRE208ISLE OF BENBECULA6KENT1404LANCASHIRE308LEICESTERSHIRE758LINCOLNSHIRE1726LONDON659MERSEYSIDE5MIDDLESEX1127MIDLOTHIAN159MORAY904NORFOLK958NORTH LANARKSHIRE6NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE9NORTH YORKS3405NORTHUMBERLAND189NOTTINGHAM263ORKNEY ISLANDS1OXON2681PEMBROKE9PERTH4POWYS196RENFREWSHIRE103ROSS AND CROMARTY1SHETLAND ISLANDS1SHROPSHIRE964SOMERSET722SOUTH GLAMORGAN335SOUTH YORKS5ST ANDREWS3STAFFORDSHIRE724STIRLING13SUFFOLK1241SURREY1545SWINDON, WILTS64TYNE AND WEAR185WARWICKSHIRE344WEST MIDLANDS90WEST SUSSEX53WEST YORKS3WILTS6679WORCESTERSHIRE1YORKSHIRE113  Grand Total49548

Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Services: Children

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department has allocated to local authorities to fund children's social care in each year between 2011 and 2016.

Mr Marcus Jones: Services provided by local authorities are financed through local revenues and government grants.It is for local authorities to allocate funding to services including children's social care.Information on children’s social care spend by local authorities in England is published on the Department’s website:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing

Department for Communities and Local Government: Work Experience

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people undertook an unpaid work placement in his Department in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many such placements lasted for longer than one month.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department has operated a small number of unpaid work placements in each of the last five years. Almost all of these placements arise from cross-Whitehall internship and Department for Work and Pensions led movement to work schemes.YearTotal Unpaid PlacementsTotal placements lasting more than one month201221201313820144220151812201674201711

Non-domestic Rates: Schools

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government's policy is on exempting (a) state, (b) free and (c) private schools from the planned increase in business rates due in April 2017.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has no plans to exempt schools from the revaluation of business rates coming into effect from April 2017. A £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme will provide support for the minority of properties which face an increase in rates as a result of the 2017 revaluation, and applies equally to schools. In addition, the Government has also established a £300 million discretionary fund over four years from 2017-18 so that local authorities can provide additional support to businesses facing increases in their rate bills.

Housing: Databases

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve the clarity and accessibility of housing data published by the Office for National Statistics.

Gavin Barwell: The Office for National Statistics produce statistics for the public good, according to the professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The Code applies to all UK bodies that produce official statistics, including my Department.My Department works closely with officials from the Office for National Statistics on issues relating to housing data. We are currently helping the UK Statistics Authority to carry out their Systemic Review of Housing Statistics (embracing all data providers).

Markets: Young People

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what support his Department provides to locally led initiatives that promote market trading as an employment or business path for young people.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to support the Love your local market campaign of the National Association of British Market Authorities and the National Market Traders Federation in May 2017.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Love your local market campaign by the National Association of British Market Authorities and the National Market Traders Federation in supporting the Government's policy of promoting town centres.

Andrew Percy: The campaign has had a real impact in helping drive footfall and bringing local communities together, delivering a key strand of the Government’s town centre policy to create vibrant and sustainable high streets and markets. It recognises that markets make a vital contribution to local communities and economies.The Government part-funded the National Association of British Market Authorities to run the campaign between 2012 and 2016, ensuring that there was a focus on encouraging young people of all ages to participate, including places holding specific youth markets. This year’s campaign, which will take place between 17 and 31 May, will again focus on how to attract young people to markets – not only as traders but also as shoppers.The National Market Traders’ Federation works closely with the National Association of British Market Authorities on “Love Your Local Market”. Government welcomes the National Market Traders’ Federation own, successful National Youth Market initiative, which is run in partnership with Manchester Markets. This is aimed at 16-30 year olds who have a great business idea to test out.This Government will continue to help promote the campaigns through visits and publicity.

Private Rented Housing

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect tenants in the private rental sector from potential retaliatory evictions.

Gavin Barwell: The Deregulation Act 2015 introduced protection for tenants against retaliatory eviction. Where a tenant makes a genuine complaint about the condition of their property that has not been addressed by their landlord, their complaint has been verified by a local authority inspection, and the local authority has served either an improvement notice or a notice of emergency remedial action, the landlord cannot evict that tenant for 6 months using the ‘no-fault’ eviction procedure under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. The landlord is also required to ensure that the repairs are completed.

Private Rented Housing

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness for tenants in the private rental sector of their rights and responsibilities as tenants.

Gavin Barwell: The Government has published ‘How to Rent: the checklist for renting in England’ to help tenants to understand their rights and responsibilities when renting a property in the private rented sector. This can be accessed online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent. The guide provides detailed information on each stage of the renting process, including how to get help if things go wrong.The Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) Regulations 2015 made it a requirement for landlords to supply a copy of the ‘How to Rent Guide’ to tenants in relation to an assured shorthold tenancy of a dwelling-house in England granted on or after 1st October 2015. The Department recommends that this document is given at the start of a new tenancy. If this document is not supplied, landlords are not able to evict tenants using a Section 21 notice.

Housing: Construction

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what criteria will determine allocation of the £1 billion being made available for short-term loans under the Home Building Fund.

Gavin Barwell: The criteria for allocating the £1 billion of short-term loan finance available through the Home Building Fund is available in the fund prospectus which can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-building-fund/an-introduction-to-the-home-building-fund.As housing is a devolved matter, the Fund is only available in England. However, £176.4 million was made available for Northern Ireland through Barnett consequentials as a result of the £3 billion Short and Long Term Home Building Fund allocations for the UK.

Starter Home Initiative

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on rolling out the Starter Homes Land Fund.

Gavin Barwell: The Housing White Paper confirmed that the £1.2 billion Starter Homes Land Fund will be invested to support the preparations of brownfield sites for starter homes and other affordable home ownership tenures. 30 partnerships with local authorities were announced in January 2017 to identify and bring forward land opportunities. As of the end of February 2017, the Homes and Communities Agency had invested £61 million in 27 sites across the country, which have the capacity to deliver over 1,600 starter homes and other affordable home ownership units, and it is now undertaking detailed due diligence on further sites.

Licensed Premises: Non-domestic Rates

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 16 March 2017 to Question 67412, on licensed premises: non-domestic rates, when he plans to publish the consultation on the eligibility criteria for the discount for eligible pubs.

Mr Marcus Jones: My Department will consult on guidance on the Pubs Relief Scheme shortly. The consultation will include proposals on the eligibility criteria and other aspects of the scheme.

Social Rented Housing: Letting Agents

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will publish a definition of the term social lettings agencies as used in the white paper, Fixing our broken housing market, published in February 2017.

Gavin Barwell: Social letting agencies can support vulnerable people and people on low incomes to access and sustain tenancies in the private rented sector. We want to prevent people reaching crisis point, and for those who are already homeless to be able to move out of temporary accommodation or hostels to a settled home as quickly as possible. There are a number of different models of social letting agencies and in the Housing White Paper we set out our interest in exploring the relative effectiveness of these different models with the aim of securing more housing for households who would otherwise struggle – providing security for landlords and support for tenants.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting the construction of 15 new garden city-style developments of 100,000 homes.

Gavin Barwell: We are currently supporting twenty-four locally-led garden towns, cities and villages in places where communities want them. These have the potential to deliver over 200,000 homes.We remain committed to supporting other places with ambitious proposals for new locally-led garden communities at scale.

Social Services: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will devolve additional fiscal powers to local councils to fund social care.

Mr Marcus Jones: We currently have no plans to devolve additional fiscal powers to local councils.

World War II: Genocide

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when and how the decision was made that the Victoria Tower Gardens should be considered as a suitable site and preferable to the alternatives for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by whom and under what criteria the decision was made for Victoria Palace Gardens to become preferred to alternatives for the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate the Government has made of how many people will on average visit the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre each week in its first year of opening.

Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how he plans for objections to Victoria Tower Gardens as a possible location for the National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre to be taken into account before a final decision is made.

Mr Marcus Jones: Victoria Tower Gardens was recommended to Government as the most fitting site for the new national memorial to the Holocaust and co-located education centre by the cross-party Holocaust Memorial Foundation after a search of almost 50 sites across London.The design competition – which includes many of the biggest names in the world – deliberately allows a process whereby the winning team can evolve their design in the light of public feedback, including from local residents. The final design will, of course, be subject to all the usual planning approvals.Westminster already has a high tourist footfall and the Government hopes that people will be encouraged to go to the memorial as part of their visit. However, there will be full and comprehensive transport and people flow management developed as part of the plans.It is right that Britain should have a fitting Memorial to the Holocaust together with an accompanying education centre to act as a voice against hatred in the modern world. And there is no more fitting place for such a bold statement of our values than next to Parliament at the heart of our democracy.We have made a promise to Britain’s Holocaust survivors that we will do this – and we are going to keep that promise.

Scotland Office

Sovereignty: Scotland

Sir Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the cost to the public purse was of the 2014 Scottish referendum.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not hold a breakdown of its costs for the Scottish Referendum in 2014.

HM Treasury

Treasury: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have been seconded to his Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Accenture, (d) McKinsey & Co, (f) Ernst and Young and (g) Bain & Company since July 2016.

Simon Kirby: Since July 2016, there have been two secondments to HM Treasury from PwC. There have been no staff seconded to HM Treasury from the other firms mentioned in the question.

Treasury: Freedom of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the average response rate was of his Department to individual Freedom of Information requests in each month since July 2016.

Simon Kirby: Freedom of Information (FOI) statistics are Official Statistics and are governed by the standards set out by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) in their Code of Practice. To publish information outside of the release timetable would be a breach of Protocol 2 of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The latest FOI statistics were published in December 2016 and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/freedom-of-information-statistics-july-to-september-2016--2

Treasury: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page nine of the Office for National Statistics report on public sector employment data, published on 15 March 2017, for what reasons around 70 civil servants transferred from his Department to the Cabinet Office on 1 April 2016; and what positions those civil servants held in his Department prior to their transfer.

Simon Kirby: 69 staff at Infrastructure UK transferred to the Cabinet Office when this group merged with the Major Projects Authority to form the Infrastructure and Projects Authority The breakdown of the number of people in each position at the time of the transfer can be found in the following table:PositionHeadcountDirector1Specialist44Senior policy advisor7Policy Advisor8Policy Support Officer9

Cryptocurrencies: Regulation

Grant Shapps: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to regulate distributed ledger technology and cryptocurrencies in the current Parliament.

Simon Kirby: We are currently negotiating amendments to the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. These amendments will extend the scope of Directive (EU) 2015/849 to include virtual currency exchange platforms and custodian wallet providers, which will enable competent authorities to ensure virtual currency networks are mitigating the risks regarding money laundering and terrorist financing. There are no current plans to regulate distributed ledger technology.

VAT: EU Law

Stella Creasy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much VAT was recovered by EU member state businesses from the UK exchequer under Articles 170 and 171 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC in each year since 2010.

Jane Ellison: The total amount of VAT recovered by EU member state businesses from the Exchequer under Articles 170 and 171 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC in each year since 2010 is as follows: Fiscal YearVAT Recovered2010/11Unavailable2011/12£114,054,136.502012/13£91,034,004.222013/14£80,859,842.272014/15£40,093,982.142015/16£87,374,709.60

Treasury: Evening Standard

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spent on advertising with the Evening Standard in each year since 2010.

Simon Kirby: The Treasury has spent the following on advertising with the Evening Standard in each year since 2010: YearSpend2010£2,6502011£02012£02013£02014£02015£02016£0 An advert was placed in the Evening Standard in 2010 for departmental recruitment purposes.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Digital Technology

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2017 to Question 63985, what the date was of the most recent security audit of digital infrastructure within government buildings.

Chris Skidmore: Security audits of digital infrastructure, such as penetration tests and other technical compliance checks, are the responsibility of each individual government department. Audits are conducted on a continuous basis within departments and across Government as a whole. Multiple audits occur every day of the year and so there is no fixed or identifiable date in the past or the future which can be reported.

Government Departments: Digital Technology

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2017 to Question 64010, what assessments have been made of potential security risks arising from component, platform and capability reuse beyond central government; and what steps the Government has taken to mitigate any such risks.

Chris Skidmore: The approach taken to assessing security risks of common components, platforms and capabilities is tailored to the type of information or service being shared. Risks are assessed through a framework of best practice technology standards and certifications as well as assessments by experts. The Government Digital Service also provides assurance through operational support, privacy assessments, security monitoring and information security management.

George Osborne

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether future meetings between Ministers and the right hon. Member for Tatton will be required to be published in the Departments' transparency data concerning meetings with proprietors, editors and media executives after his appointment as editor of the London Evening Standard; and whether any such meetings will be exempt from declaration in such transparency data.

Ben Gummer: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

George Osborne

Tom Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to prevent the right hon. Member for Tatton from accessing copies of Government, Cabinet or Cabinet Committee papers relating to the period when he was in the Government while he is the Editor of the London Evening Standard.

Ben Gummer: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for International Trade

Trade Promotion: Guatemala

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department has taken to promote trade between the UK and Guatemala.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade (DIT) supports UK exports to, and attracts foreign direct investment from, Guatemala. Guatemala is part of DIT’s developing regional approach to Latin America, where we have an established presence in 12 markets. In 2015, UK exports to Guatemala were £41 million (services exports were £7 million and goods exports were £34 million). In the same year, UK imports from Guatamala were £117 million (services imports were £33 million and goods imports were £84 million).[Source: ONS Pink Book] UK Export Finance has considerable appetite to support exports to Guatemala and welcomes new applications for support.

Trade Agreements

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, on what (a) policy and (b) technical areas he plans to consult the devolved administrations when (i) scoping and (ii) negotiating new free trade agreements; and what steps his Department has taken to identify such areas in which it will be necessary for different provisions of free trade agreements to apply to take account of differences in law between each constituent part of the UK.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade will work with citizens and businesses from across the UK to ensure we develop a trade policy that works for the whole of the UK, and reflects the interests of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England.

Exports: Scotland

Stuart Blair Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the level of exports from Scottish businesses of the UK leaving the EU.

Dr Liam Fox: My department and other departments across Whitehall continue to undertake a wide range of analysis covering the whole UK economy and our relations with the EU. DIT is a UK-wide department whose role is to promote exports and investment for the whole UK.

Exports: Scotland

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the level of exports from Scottish businesses of the UK leaving the EU.

Dr Liam Fox: My department and other departments across Whitehall continue to undertake a wide range of analysis covering the whole UK economy and our relations with the EU. DIT is a UK-wide department whose role is to promote exports and investment for the whole UK.

Overseas Trade: South East Asia

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the governments of ASEAN countries on future trade and investment opportunities.

Dr Liam Fox: I recently visited Singapore and Vietnam, to reaffirm our strong bilateral economic and trade relations. In Singapore, we renewed our joint commitment to facilitating business partnerships and deepening our strong trade and investment ties. In Vietnam, we discussed taking forward trade and investment links to facilitate growth. In both countries, I reaffirmed the UK’s ongoing support towards the finalisation of existing negotiations for their respective Free Trade Agreements with the European Union.

Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with other Commonwealth countries on future trade and investment opportunities.

Mark Garnier: During the Commonwealth Trade Ministers’ Meeting held earlier this month, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade, and my Noble Friend Lord Price, met many of the 35 visiting Commonwealth Trade Ministers to discuss trade and investment issues of mutual interest during the two day event.

Overseas Trade

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help businesses build trading opportunities abroad.

Dr Liam Fox: DIT provides market access, support and advice to UK business both in the UK and in 109 markets overseas. Through the GREAT campaign we build the global appetite for British goods and services, and give UK companies access to millions of pounds’ worth of potential business through the digital services offered on the great.gov.uk website.

Wales Office

Swansea Bay City Region

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he plans to announce his decision on the Swansea Bay City Deal to the House before any other public forum.

Alun Cairns: The Swansea Bay City Region City Deal, which was signed by my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister on Monday 20 March, paves the way for substantial investment in South West Wales. It will create in excess of 9,000 jobs and secure almost £1.3bn of investment to the region. I issued the following Written Ministerial Statement on Monday morning to inform the House that the Government had reached this agreement.https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2017-03-20/debates/17032039000007/UKRegionalInvestment

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Cattle: Transport

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many cattle movements in the UK were recorded by the British Cattle Movement Service in each year from 2008 to 2016.

George Eustice: The number of cattle movements in the UK recorded on the Cattle Tracing System by the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) in each year from 2008 to 2016 is shown in the table below: YearCattle Movements200813,445,614200913,194,912201013,654,294201114,570,411201213,810,509201313,736,427201413,742,163201513,783,821201614,084,952  These figures include from April 2010 movements manually entered by BCMS, usually as a result of keeper contact. Where an animal moves off a location and then onto another that is classified in reporting as 2 movements.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has assessed the implications of the bans on the use of wild animals in circuses introduced in Iran, Malta, Mexico, Panama and the Netherlands since 2013 for the draft legislation it is preparing on that matter.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to introduce legislative proposals on the use of wild animals in circuses in the next session of Parliament.

George Eustice: The Government remains committed to banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses. We support the Bill sponsored by the Member for Torbay, the Wild Animals in Circuses (Prohibition) Bill. If this Bill is not successful we will introduce legislation when Parliamentary time is available. We have made no detailed assessment of the implications of bans introduced in other countries.

Fuel Cells: Urban Areas

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of deploying low nitrogen oxide fuel cell generators in inner cities.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: While Defra has not carried out a specific assessment regarding the deployment of low nitrogen oxide fuel cell generators in inner cities, the Government welcomes the development of lower emissions technologies and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has recently provided innovation funding to a project developing a low temperature solid oxide fuel cell that would be suitable for deployment in cities. Defra has also recently consulted on regulations to reduce emissions from high nitrogen oxide generators.

Fly-tipping

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to reduce fly tipping; and if she will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We are committed to tackling fly-tipping and, as set out in the Government’s manifesto have given local councils the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping. These new enforcement tools have been available to councils since May 2016, providing them with an alternative to prosecutions and assisting them in taking a proportionate enforcement response. This builds on other Government action to tackle fly-tipping, which has included: Introducing stronger powers for local authorities and the Environment Agency to seize vehicles of those suspected of waste crime. Cracking down on offenders by working with the Sentencing Council to ensure sentences act as a real deterrent to offending. New guidance came into force on 1 July 2014. Strengthening the waste duty of care by publishing a revised Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice, that provides guidance to local authorities, regulators, waste industry and all those that produce, keep, import, treat, have control or dispose of controlled waste on how to comply with their waste duty of care obligations. Supporting the industry-led Right Waste Right Place campaign to promote Duty of Care to small businesses. The campaign will be targeting construction, retail and agricultural businesses. Chairing the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG) to prevent and tackle illegal dumping. The NFTPG includes representatives from central and local Government, enforcement authorities, the waste industry, and private landowners. The NFTPG has published a Fly-tipping Partnership Framework outlining best practice for the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping to be adapted to suit local circumstances as well as a series of fly-tipping prevention guides for householders, businesses, landowners and local authorities.

Agriculture

Ms Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the Green Paper on the future of the UK agricultural industry.

George Eustice: We have robust engagement plans to inform and shape our future agriculture and land use policy options and take on board stakeholder views. Decisions on the timings of future legislation and consultation documents about agriculture and land use will be shared in due course. We want to ensure that everyone who is interested has the opportunity to have their say as we shape the vision for these vital industries, including through formal consultation and broader engagement opportunities.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Dogs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking in response to the TB outbreak within Kimblewick Hunt's foxhounds to ensure that other hunts are free of TB.

George Eustice: Government veterinary experts have provided advice to the hunt kennels and hounds from the affected kennel have not been in contact with other hounds since the initial case was suspected. At this stage no further Government action is considered necessary in relation to other hunts.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Dogs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has commissioned to date into the spread of TB from hunting hounds to cattle.

George Eustice: Bovine TB is a notifiable disease in all farmed and pet mammal species, including dogs. The disease has only very rarely been diagnosed in dogs, in this country and elsewhere, and investigations into bovine TB breakdowns in cattle herds have never identified the source of a breakdown as an infected dog.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Dogs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to cancel all hunting activities until foxhound packs across the UK are certified to be free of TB.

George Eustice: We have no plans to do this. TB in dogs, caused by Mycobacterium bovis (the bovine TB bacterium), is extremely rare and dogs pose a very low risk of transmitting the disease.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Dogs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to investigate the source of the bovine TB outbreak within Kimblewick Hunt's foxhound packs.

George Eustice: An epidemiological investigation into this incident is underway.

Dogs: Diseases

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2017 to Question 67006 on bovine tuberculosis: dogs, whether her Department has carried out any research on diseases in packs of hunting dogs.

George Eustice: Bovine TB is a notifiable disease in all farmed and pet mammal species, including dogs. The disease has only very rarely been diagnosed in dogs, in this country and elsewhere, and investigations into bovine TB breakdowns in cattle herds have never identified the source of a breakdown as an infected dog.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Dogs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy for TB in hunt packs operating in close proximity to cattle to be a notifiable disease.

George Eustice: This control has been in place for some time for all pet and farmed mammals. Under the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 the detection of suspect TB lesions in carcases and the identification of Mycobacterium bovis from tissue or other samples (including dogs) is notifiable.

Department of Health

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents there were of physical restraint resulting in physical injury to people with mental health conditions in (a) Bradford Districts Care Trust and (b) each trust in England in each year since 2010.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents there were of physical restraint used to administer medication to people with mental health conditions in (a) Bradford Districts Care Trust and (b) each trust in England in each year since 2010.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents there were of physical restraint resulting in death of people with mental health conditions in (a) Bradford Districts Care Trust and (b) each trust in England in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not collected centrally.

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents there were of physical restraint being applied to people with mental health conditions in (a) Bradford Districts Care Trust and (b) each trust in England in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The number of incidents of physical restraint being applied to people with mental health conditions in Bradford Districts Care Trust and each trust in England for 2011/12 to 2015/16 is attached. It should be noted that not all providers submitted restraint data during this period. 2015/16 only includes figures April to November due to a change in datasets at this time. Data for 2010/11 is not available due to a change in dataset.



PQ68069 attached table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 41.73 KB)

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many complaints there were relating to physical restraint of people with mental health conditions in (a) Bradford Districts Care Trust and (b) each trust in England in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not collected in the format requested.

Health Services: Homelessness

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that homeless people have adequate access to healthcare.

Nicola Blackwood: Promoting better access to healthcare services for homeless and other vulnerable people is part of the Department’s commitment to tackle health inequalities through the Inclusion Health programme. This Department-sponsored programme published jointly with the Royal College of General Practitioners an evidence-based commissioning guide for clinical commissioning groups and health and wellbeing boards: Improving access to health care for Gypsies and Travellers, homeless people and sex workers (2013). The Programme also published Standards for commissioners and service providers in 2013, in partnership with the Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health, to set clear standards for planning, commissioning and providing health care for homeless people and other excluded groups. NHS England published guidance for the service on the rights of vulnerable groups in registering with general practitioners to reduce the risk of exacerbating health inequalities for vulnerable groups, Patient Registration: Standard Operating Principles for Primary Medical Care (General Practice) in 2015. Through the inequality duties introduced in the Health and Social Care Act 2012, local areas must have regard to inequalities in access to, and the outcomes from, NHS services. Clinical commissioning groups, health and wellbeing boards and the rest of the local health system should work together to undertake joint strategic needs assessments of local health needs and develop strategic plans to deliver better outcomes and reduce health inequalities. We have made £40 million available through the Homelessness Change/Platform for Life programme to provide tailored hostel accommodation to improve the physical and mental health outcomes of rough sleepers and provide stable, transitional, shared accommodation for young people who are homeless or in insecure housing. We have also encouraged local areas to develop and improve hospital discharge arrangements for people who are homeless through the £10 million Homeless Hospital Discharge Fund, including by more effective multi-agency working.

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of safety incidents occurring in private abortion clinics which result in NHS patients being referred to emergency care following an abortion procedure.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that infection control procedures are followed in theatre and private abortion practices.

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that (a) staff at Marie Stopes International and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service are adequately trained in resuscitation and (b) systems are in place to ensure that resuscitation equipment is regularly checked to protect patients from avoidable harm.

Nicola Blackwood: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for ensuring that requirements under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 are met by the providers of termination of pregnancy (ToP) services including meeting the fundamental standards of quality and safety as set out in Part 3 to the 2014 Regulations, and Regulation 20 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, which is specific to independent sector termination of pregnancy providers. In addition, the Department has oversight and the Secretary of State for Health has the power to approve independent sector providers to perform termination of pregnancy. All approved clinics must agree to comply with the Secretary of State’s requirements in the form of Required Standard Operating Principles (RSOPs). The CQC assists the Secretary of State in his functions by inspecting against all of the Department’s RSOPs when it inspects an independent sector provider. Safety, infection control procedures and resuscitation are included in the CQC’s ToP inspection framework and are areas that are considered during an inspection based on an assessment or identified risk at any individual location. The CQC has a wide set of powers that allow them to protect the public and hold registered providers and managers to account.The CQC’s enforcement policy sets out their approach to taking action where poor care is identified, or where registered providers and managers do not meet the standards required in the regulations. The CQC use their enforcement policy to:- Protect people who use regulated services from harm and the risk of harm, and to ensure they receive health and social care services of an appropriate standard; and- Hold registered providers and managers to account for failures in how the service is provided.Following inspections of independent sector places that perform ToP in 2016, Marie Stopes International suspended specific types of termination between 19 August and 7 October 2016, while it worked with the CQC to address these concerns. The CQC also issued four warning notices to Marie Stopes International to support improvement. The Department and the CQC continue to closely monitor the progress of Marie Stopes International to ensure that ongoing improvements are made and maintained.

Action On Smoking and Health

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has received a request for funding from the group Action on Smoking and Health in respect of the next financial year; and if he will ensure that all grants awarded for such work are assessed on a competitive basis.

Nicola Blackwood: The Department has received no formal requests for funding from the group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for the next financial year. Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. For the activities delivered by the current grant, awarded to ASH, it was assessed that the non-competed tender route was most appropriate. Any future applications for funding under the Section 64 grant system will be reviewed by the Department in accordance with the Cabinet Office Minimum Standards which came into force in December 2016.

Plastic Surgery

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve the regulation of dermal fillers used in non-surgical cosmetic interventions and not classified as medical devices.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency only regulates dermal fillers that are placed on the United Kingdom market as medical devices, as defined in the Medical Devices Regulations 2002. The majority of these products are intended to be used in reconstructive surgery, and as a result they are considered to be medical devices. Where an unregulated medical product, including dermal fillers, is administered by a regulated medical professional, that regulated professional is subject to the standards of their registration.

Learning Disability

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the average annual cost to the public purse of supporting a person with challenging behaviour and learning disabilities, autism or both within an assessment and treatment unit.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding was allocated by NHS England to the learning disability GP annual health check scheme in 2015-16.

David Mowat: In 2015/16, spend on General Practitioner Learning Disabilities Directed Enhanced Services (DES) was £12.376 million. Under the DES, patients aged 14 and over with learning disabilities are offered an annual health check, which includes producing a health action plan. The National Audit Office has recently estimated that the annual cost of supporting a person with challenging behaviour and learning disabilities, autism or both within an assessment and treatment unit is £180,000.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to make continuous glucose monitors available on the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are primarily responsible for commissioning diabetes services to meet the requirements of their populations. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, and are based on the available evidence, taking into account national guidelines. This should include consideration of access to continuous glucose monitoring for people with type 1 diabetes who might benefit from it.

General Practitioners: Rural Areas

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health of 15 March 2017, Official Report, column 144WH, if the proposed creation of super-hubs in rural areas means the closure of local practice buildings to be replaced with new larger buildings.

David Mowat: Hubs are not about surgery closures — that has never been this Government's policy intention and we are supporting general practice with a 14% real terms increase in funding. Many general practices are already working together to support larger populations and in the future there will be even more opportunities for collaboration so that practices can work at scale when necessary, while maintaining their location within communities and relationships with patients.

Department of Health: Evening Standard

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on advertising with the Evening Standard newspaper in each year since 2010.

David Mowat: The Department can confirm following a detailed search of its Business Management Services database, that “The Evening Standard” is not a registered supplier and consequently hold no records of any spend on advertising costs since 2010 with this newspaper.

Women and Equalities

Sexual Offences: Crime Prevention and Prosecutions

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on encouraging other countries to strengthen their laws to prevent and to enable more effective prosecution of perpetrators of sexual violence.

Caroline Dinenage: A key priority of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative is to ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence are brought to account. We work with a number of countries to implement the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict. The Cote d’Ivoire has expanded its definition of sexual violence to harmonise its Criminal and Civil Codes. Croatia and Kosovo have revised their laws to allow victims of sexual violence to access compensation.

Railways: Females

Mrs Theresa Villiers: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on encouraging women to pursue careers in the rail industry.

Caroline Dinenage: No industry can afford to miss out on talent from any gender. The Department for Transport has set an ambition for women to represent at least 20% of new entrants to engineering and technical apprenticeships in the transport sector by 2020.I am pleased that Crossrail is exceeding this: 27% of their apprentices are female.

Employment: Females

Sir Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to support older women to return to work after taking time off to care for children or other family members.

Caroline Dinenage: This Government is committed to unlocking the skills, talents and experience of all women and supporting them to meet their potential. In the Budget, which this year coincided with International Women’s Day, we announced a new £5 million fund to identify the best ways to help people back into the workplace after taking time out.